This invention relates generally to a multipart watch assembly, and, more particularly, to a watch assembly having several interchangeable bezel elements and corresponding interchangeable band elements, with the bezel and band providing both a security and a decorative function.
With the advent of the latest watch fashions and technology, the availability of different materials to be used in watch components has led to a great diversity in the sizes, shapes and colors of watches. Such developments have virtually revolutionized the contemporary watch business and have made watches far more than mere timepieces, which they had been considered for so long.
These developments have been even more accelerated in the recent era of electronic watches, in which watches in all price categories are battery-driven with quartz crystals generating pulses for counting time and integrated circuits controlling the time regulation function. Normally, watch cases are made self-contained and fit within integral housings to form decoratively attractive packaged assemblies. In this context, each visible watch element has come to be regarded as a candidate for contributing to the overall design impact of the watch, with such creative design treatment primarily focusing on the case, the dial, the bezel and the strap or band.
Even with the recognition that watch cases themselves may be made removable from the remainder of the watch, it has not heretofore been recognized that seemingly less significant watch parts can also be made interchangeable and thereby also enhance the fashionable qualities and utility of a watch. And while watch bands have also been viewed as decorative accessories and have been made interchangeable in a manner to avoid the more cumbersome spring mounted watch bands of the past, they have not generally been thought of as part of the watch assembly in a manner which could contribute to the structural integrity of the watch. Lately, even the watch bezel, traditionally regarded as providing a relatively straightforward retaining function, has started to be considered as having decorative capabilities as well.
Thus, it has become fashionable to wear watches which have bezel, case and band elements which have decorative features, such as attractive colors, and to even provide such watches where the colors of these elements match or blend with each other. This enables the wearer to have a watch which can be color coordinated with his or her shoes, belt or other article of clothing.
However, since most watches are purchased in a fully assembled condition, it is necessary to have a differently colored watch for each occasion on which the wearer wishes to match the color of his or her outfit. Even though the cost of attractive watches has dropped dramatically over the past few years, the requirement to maintain a collection of several watches can become very expensive for the fashion-conscious consumer.
One approach to resolving this problem is to construct a watch having a case element, which includes the watch movement and face, and a separate replaceable one-piece bezel and band element. This type of watch assembly has the advantage that the bezel-band element (typically of molded construction) is changed in order to color coordinate the watch to the wearer's outfit.
Despite recognizing this advantage, the contemporary watch industry has not found such a watch assembly to be completely satisfactory. Since the case is a separate element, common to each combination of associated elements, it must somehow be attached or connected to or held by the bezel-band element before the watch can be worn each time. This has frequently been done by force-fitting the case into the bezel component, so that it may be "popped" into or out of the bezel, or by forming the bezel with a groove so that the case can be snapped or fastened into the bezel. Consequently, attachment of the case to the bezel-band element will not be thoroughly secure, and the case may accidentally "pop out" from the bezel if the wearer of the watch inadvertently bangs or jars the watch.
Accordingly, it is considered desirable to provide an improved watch assembly which has interchangeable bezel and band components that fulfill the appropriate decorative functions and yet overcome the foregoing mechanical security problems.
It is therefore an object of the invention described herein to provide a watch assembly having a separate interchangeable bezel element and a separate mutually dependent interchangeable band element.
It is also an object of this invention to form a bezel for a watch which can be interchanged periodically at the discretion of the wearer, concurrently with or without changing the band of the watch, to provide a decorative and secure watch assembly.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a watch assembly which can be color coordinated to the clothing outfit of the wearer.
It is another object of this invention that a watch assembly be capable of being created from a variety of different materials for respective interchangeable elements thereof.
It is also an object of this invention that the ease of interchanging watch assembly components minimizes a user's concern for highly precise dimensional fitting between such components.
A further object of this invention is to enable a user of a multi-part watch assembly to create a different appearance for the watch by virtue of selectively changing the shape or the material of the parts, thereby effecting cost savings and decorative advantages.
Yet another object of the invention described herein is to provide a watch assembly which utilizes the structural configuration of the bezel in cooperation with the band element to maintain secure engagement of the bezel, band and the watch case.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification when considered in conjunction with a specific embodiment of the invention as hereinafter described.